The Return of Paris Angst

It's time to share Paris with its rightful owners again. No more breezy parking maneuvers and jostle-free promenades. They're back (a few shades orange-er granted) and ready to elbow themselves through post office lines and overtake sidewalks with their jumbo-sized poussettes.
Sadly enough the sun seems to be in on the whole thing. As if la rentrée weren't disheartening enough, now we have to scuttle around the crowded city in sweaters and wet feet. And even if the morning gloom and early nights will send Parisians packing for weekend getaways in no time, it no longer seems as fun to be left behind.

Audrey Hepburn as Regina Lampert. [Online image] 1963.

Summer in the Country

People outside of the Paris area look and sound different. They're not quite as slim; their clothes aren't quite as swanky; their tournures de phrase aren't as charmantes. In short, as a Versaillaise I know put it: "Le Français moyen n'est vraiment pas beau." But beautiful or not, the Français moyen happens to inhabit the picaresque French countryside that Parisians can't seem to get enough of--at least for a weekend at a time.
Perhaps it's not merely the leisurely riparian picnics and fresh country air, though, that propel French people to leave the comforts of city life again and again. One can't help wondering if part of urban elites' persistent attraction to la France profonde is due to pure snobisme. Indeed, with their 75s on their license plates, textbook grammar, and names that don't sound like they've been taken from an American teen drama series, Parisians must feel pretty snazzy next to their beauf compatriots.
Or maybe they see it as a chance to let down their Parisian guard for a day or two. Who knows: en cachette, they might even remember how to smile again.

Sylvia Bataille as Henriette. [Online image] 1936.

Summer in the City

In France, staying put in July and August is a bit like asking for ketchup with your snails. Ça ne se fait pas. But with la crise, more and more French families are opting for dépaysants day trips over month-long holidays. Luckily marooned Parisians have it especially easy with a slew of outdoor pools, like the Josephine Baker, at their doorstep--not to mention Paris Plages. If only commerçants would get into la crise spirit and not close shop all of August, Parisians could continue that favorite of of all vacation pastimes: le shopping.

Homemade swimming pool for steelworkers' children, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by Arthur Rothstein, [Online image] 1938.